AP Literature and Composition - Fiction and Drama Terms

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering literary, dramatic, and fiction terms for AP Literature and Composition.

theme

The central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work which provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements are organized.

thematic subjects

The smaller ideas that contribute to the larger meaning of a story: racism, economic disparity, depression, materialism, etc.

point of view

In fictional writing, the narrator's position in relation to the story being told.

first person point of view

A narrative style in which a character in the story/novel is telling that story from his/her point of view. Narrative is expressed using the pronouns “I” or “We”.

first person peripheral

A narrative style where a character in the story who is not the protagonist, or central figure, narrates. The narrator is an observer to the action as well as a participant.

first person unreliable narrator

A character in the story who narrates and may be untruthful, misguided, or deceptive in perception or interpretation.

second person

A narrative mode where the narrator reports the story using the pronoun “you”.

third person narration

A narrative mode where each character is referred to by the narrator as "he", "she", "it", or "they", but never as "I" or "we", or "you". The narrator is an unspecified entity or uninvolved person that tells the story but is not a character of any kind within the story.

third person omniscient

A story told by a narrator who knows everything about the characters and events—past, present, future—in the story, and can see into the thoughts and feelings of every character.

third person limited omniscient

Narration written in the third person (he, she, they, etc.), but the perspective is limited to one character’s thoughts and feelings exclusively.

third person dramatic/objective

A perspective where the narrator does not see into the mind or feelings of any character and observes the story from a detached and impersonal perspective, reporting actions and dialogue without telling us directly what the characters think and feel.

stream of consciousness narration

A literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue.

flat character

A character who embodies one or two qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary.

foil

A person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the negative or positive (or both) qualities of another character (often the protagonist).

catalyst

A minor character who sets the plot in motion (e.g., Dumbledore delivers—via Hagrid—Harry Potter to the Dursleys to save him).

round/dynamic character

A dynamic character undergoes some kind of change in the story; a round character often displays inconsistencies and internal conflicts found in most real people or will experience an epiphany that allows him/her/them to change.

static character

A character who does not change throughout the conflict of the story.

stock character

A type of flat character who embodies stereotypes such as “the mad scientist,” “the femme fatale,” “the burned-out cop,” or the “brilliant but anti-social detective.”

anti-hero

A protagonist who has the opposite of most of the traditional attributes of a hero; he or she may be bewildered, ineffectual, deluded, or merely pathetic.

protagonist

The main character of a narrative; its central character who engages the reader’s interest and empathy.

antagonist

A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.

caricature

A picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.

plot

The main events of a play, novel, movie or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.

achronological plot

A plot in which the sequence of events does not unfold—is not arranged—in the order that they occur.

chronological plot

The main events of a play, novel, movie or similar work devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence and in a chronological order.

climax

The turning point of a narrative work that is considered the point of highest tension or drama, where the protagonist has made a critical choice from which there is no turning back emotionally, physically, or spiritually.

conflict

The struggle within the plot between opposing forces. The protagonist engages in obstacles with the antagonist, which may take the form of a character, society, nature, or an aspect of the protagonist’s personality.

denouement

The final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters of climax are explained or resolved; the conclusion of the plot where falling action is brought to a close and outcomes of climax lead to resolution.

deus ex machina

An unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.

episodic plot

The main events of a play, novel, movie or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as a series of loosely connected parts or events.

in medias res

When the plot begins in the middle of a narrative; the reader is dropped immediately into the action of the story.

resolution

The action of solving the main—or a secondary—conflict in a work of fiction or drama, where the conflict is settled or at least significantly altered (comes after denouement).

rising action

Action and events that build toward the climax in a literary work.

subplot

A subordinate (secondary) plot in a play, novel, or similar work.

subtext

An underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation.

exposition

The beginning portion of the plot where characters and setting are introduced; often conflict is suggested.

allegory

A story in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these elements is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth (e.g., Animal Farm, “The Vengeance” in A Tale of Two Cities).

anecdote

A short account of an interesting event.

aphorism

A short, astute statement of a general truth (e.g., “He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas.”)

archetype

A recurrent pattern or motif in literature, art, or mythology (e.g., Persephone/Hades, Icarus, Zeus as archetypal father figure).

aside

A remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.

bildungsroman

A novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education (a “coming of age” story).

canon

A list of literary or artistic work considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality.

catharsis

The release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy; both negative emotions are purged because the tragic protagonist’s suffering is an affirmation of human values rather than a despairing denial of them.

dialogue

Conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie.

emblem

A thing serving as a symbolic representation of a particular quality or concept (e.g., a dove is often emblematic of peace).

epic

A long narrative poem, typically derived from ancient oral tradition, telling the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation (e.g., Beowulf, the Odyssey, Gilgamesh).

epigram

A brief, witty statement.

epiphany

A moment of sudden revelation or insight.

fable

A short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.

farce

A comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.

flashback

A narrated scene that marks a break in the narrative in order to inform the reader or audience member about events that took place before the opening scene of a work.

frame story

A story within a story (e.g., in Frankenstein, the protagonist Walton writes to his sister about his explorations).

foreshadowing

A warning or indication of (a clue to) a future event.

generalization

A statement about a class based on an examination of some of its members (e.g., "Used car salespeople are untrustworthy.").

genre

A category of artistic composition characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter (e.g., drama, short stories, fiction, poetry, horror, fantasy).

interior monologue

A piece of writing expressing a character's inner thoughts.

invocation

The action of appealing to something or someone for assistance or as an authority (e.g., Lady Macbeth’s “Come, you spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here . . .”).

melodrama

A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.

monologue

A long speech by one actor in a play or movie.

motif

A repetition of imagery, diction, or figurative language in a story that helps to enhance the theme (e.g., “scars” in Harry Potter, flowers and birds in “The Garden Party”).

narrative

A spoken or written account of connected events—a story.

parody

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes, where the writer uses the quirks of style of the imitated piece in extreme or ridiculous ways.

prose

Written or spoken language in its ordinary form without metrical structure (anything not poetry).

reversal

An adverse change in fortune, especially for a character in a literary work (often happens for tragic heroes).

rhetorical question

A question posed for effect which requires no answer, but which provokes thought or discussion.

setting

Time and place of a fictional work.

soliloquy

An act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.

stereotype

A generalization (usually incorrect) about a group which has become a cliché (e.g., absent-minded professor, dumb jock, nerdy "A" student).